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THE STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN WRITTEN
AMERICAN AND BRITISH ENGLISH AT 6TH
SEMESTER OF
ENGLISH LITERATURE DEPARTMENT OF
ADAB AND HUMANITY FACULTY OF
UIN ALAUDDIN MAKASSAR
A Thesis
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana
Humaniora in English Literature Department of Faculty of Adab and Humanities of
UIN Alauddin Makassar
By
NURFAIZAH SAMSUR
Reg. No. 40300110075
THE FACULTY OF ADAB AND HUMANITIES
UIN ALAUDDIN MAKASSAR
2014
i
THE STUDENTS’ ABILITY IN DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN WRITTEN
AMERICAN AND BRITISH ENGLISH AT 6TH
SEMESTER OF
ENGLISH LITERATURE DEPARTMENT OF
ADAB AND HUMANITY FACULTY OF
UIN ALAUDDIN MAKASSAR
A Thesis
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Sarjana
Humaniora in English Literature Department of Faculty of Adab and Humanities of
UIN Alauddin Makassar
By
NURFAIZAH SAMSUR
Reg. No. 40300110075
THE FACULTY OF ADAB AND HUMANITIES
UIN ALAUDDIN MAKASSAR
2014
ii
MOTTO
For every choice, the mistake I’ve made,
it’s not my plan.
-Pearl Jam, Sirens-
iii
PERNYATAAN KEASLIAN SKRIPSI
Dengan penuh kesadaran, penyusun yang bertanda tangan dibawah ini
menyatakan bahwa skripsi ini benar adalah hasil karya penyusun sendiri. Jika
dikemudian hari terbukti bahwa ia merupakan duplikat, tiruan, plagiat, atau
dibuat oleh orang lain, sebagian atau seluruhnya, maka skripsi dan gelar yang
diperoleh karenanya batal demi hukum.
Samata, August 29th
2014
Penyusun,
NURFAIZAH SAMSUR
NIM: 40300110075
iv
PERSETUJUAN PEMBIMBING
Pembimbing penulisan skripsi Saudari Nurfaizah Samsur, NIM:
40300110075, mahasiswa jurusan Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris Fakultas Adab dan
Humaniora UIN Alauddin Makassar, setelah dengan seksama meneliti dan
mengoreksi skripsi yang bersangkutan dengan judul, “The Students’ Ability in
distinguishing between Written American and British English at 6th
Semester of
English Literature Department of Adab and Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin
Makassar” memandang bahwa skripsi tersebut telah memenuhi syarat-syarat ilmiah
dan dapat disetujui untuk diajukan ke sidang munaqasyah.
Demikian persetujuan ini diberikan untuk diproses lebih lanjut.
Samata, August 29th
2014
Pembimbing I Pembimbing II
Serliah Nur S.Pd, M.Hum, M.Ed Nur Rachma Isnaeni Hamka S.Pd. I, M.Pd
NIP: 19730905 200501 2 003 NIP:
v
PENGESAHAN SKRIPSI
Skripsi yang berjudul “The Students’ Ability in distinguishing between
Written American and British English at 6th
Semester of English Literature
Department of Adab and Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin Makassar,” yang
disusun oleh Nurfaizah Samsur, NIM 40300110075, mahasiswa Jurusan Bahasa dan
Sastra Inggris pada Fakultas Adab dan Humaniora UIN Alauddin Makassar, telah
diuji dan dipertahankan dalam sidang munaqasyah yang diselenggarakan pada hari
Senin, tanggal 15 September 2014 M, bertepatan dengan 20 Dzulqaidah 1435 H,
dinyatakan telah dapat diterima sebagai salah satu syarat untuk memperoleh gelar
Sarjana Ilmu Adab dan Humaniora, Jurusan Bahasa dan Sastra Inggris (dengan
beberapa perbaikan).
Samata, 15 September 2014 M
20 Dzulqaidah 1435 H
DEWAN PENGUJI
Ketua : Dr. M. Dahlan, M., M.Ag ( )
Sekretaris : Ahmad Muaffaq N, S.Ag., M.Pd ( )
Munaqisy I : Dr. Abd. Muin, M.Hum ( )
Munaqish II : Sardian Maharani Asnur, S.Pd., M.Pd ( )
Pembimbing I : Serliah Nur, S.Pd., M.Hum., M.Ed ( )
Pembimbing II : Nur Rachma Isnaeni Hamka S.Pd.I M.Pd ( )
Diketahui oleh:
Dekan Fakultas Adab dan Humaniora
UIN Alauddin Makassar
Prof. Dr. Mardan, M.Ag
NIP: 19591112 198903 1 001
vi
APPROVAL SHEET
Title : The Students’ Ability in Distinguishing between Written British and
American English at 6th
Semester of English Literature Department of
Adab and Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin Makassar
Name : NURFAIZAH SAMSUR
Reg. No. : 40300110075
Majority : English and Literature Department
Samata, August 29th
2014
The Writer
Nurfaizah Samsur
Reg. No.: 403.001.10.075
Supervisor
Supervisor I Supervisor II
Serliah Nur S.Pd, M.Hum, M.Ed Nur Rachma Isnaeni Hamka S.Pd. I, M.Pd
NIP: 19730905 200501 2 003 NIP:
Approved by
Head of English and Literature Department
Dr. Abd. Muin, M.Hum
NIP: 19660102 199203 1 002
Acknowledged by
Dean of Adab and Humanities Faculty
UIN Alauddin Makassar
Prof. Dr. Mardan, M.Ag
NIP: 19591112 198903 1 001
vii
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Bismillahirahmaanirahiim....
Alhamdulillah... The writer would like to thank to Allah SWT, who has given her
guidance and patience to write this thesis. Moreover, she is feeling blessed for the
help of many people who have contributed to make this thesis comes true. So, in this
amazing moment, she would like to express her deepest gratitude and appreciation to
the generous:
1. The rector of UIN Alauddin Makassar, Prof. Dr. Qadir Gassing, HT. MS.,
and his staff for their administrative support.
1. Prof. Dr. Mardan, M.Ag. as the Dean of Adab and Humanities Faculty, and
his staffs for their support, approval, and permission to write this thesis
2. The Head and Secretary of English and Literature Department, Dr. Abd.
Muin, M. Hum, and Serliah Nur, S.Pd. M.Hum., M.Ed., whose direction,
guidance, patience, support, and approval have enabled the writer to produce this
thesis.
3. The first and second supervisor, Serliah Nur, S.Pd. M.Hum., M.Ed., and Nur
Rachma Isnaeni Hamka S.Pd., M.Pd., who read her thesis in their busy day
and improved it with their comments and suggestions. For these gifts of time
and attention, she is very grateful.
4. All lecturers and staffs of Adab and Humanities Faculty UIN Alauddin
Makassar for the patience in helping and sharing knowledge.
5. Her beloved parents, H. Samsur S.Pd., M.Pd and dra. Hj. Hajrah S.Pd.,
M.Pd., for their never ending efforts and prayers to raise her up. They are the
pulse of the writer live.
viii
6. Her great younger brothers and sister, Ulil Amri Samsur, Ulil Albab Samsur,
and Nurul Fadilah Samsur, who support her every time she phoned or met
them.
7. Her dearest friends, Chelly and Arha who have been her continuing
intellectual support, engaging her in dialogue on her research and offering
illuminating perspectives, examples, and sources from their own as well as
invaluable consultant.
8. All friends in class of 2010 English and Literature Department UIN Alauddin
Makassar, AG. 1, AG.2, AG.3, and AG.4 for four years of togetherness the
writer passed in the university.
9. Many others who were helpful in vital ways, including reading and
commenting on parts of this thesis, giving examples from their own
experience, or discussing ideas with her that she cannot mention one by one,
thanks for the support.
The writer
ix
TABLE OF CONTENTS
HALAMAN JUDUL i
MOTTO ii
PERNYATAAN KEASLIAN SKRIPSI iii
PERSETUJUAN PEMBIMBING iv
PENGESAHAN SKRIPSI v
APPROVAL SHEET vi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ix
LIST OF TABLE xi
ABSTRACT xii
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1
A. Background 1
B. Problem Statement 4
C. Objective of Research 4
D. Significance of research 4
E. Scope of the Research 5
CHAPTER II REVIEW AND RELATED LITERATURE 6
A. Previous Findings 6
B. Variety of English 7
C. British and American English Differences 9
1. Vocabulary Aspect 10
2. Spelling Aspect 11
3. Grammatical Aspect 14
x
CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH 19
A. The Design of the Research 19
B. Population and Sample 19
C. The Instrument of Collecting Data 20
D. Procedure of Data Collection 21
E. Technique of Data Analysis 21
CHAPTER IV FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION 25
A. Findings 25
1. Test 25
2. Open questionnaire 44
B. Discussion 48
CHAPTER V CONCLUSION 53
BIBLIOGRAPHY
APPENDIX
CURRICULUM VITAE
xi
LIST OF TABLE
Table 1 The Range Score of Ability 22
Table 2 The Range Score of Each Aspect 23
Table 3 Individual Score Based on Correct Answer 26
Table 4 Percentage of Classification of Students’ Ability in General 28
Table 5 Percentage of Classification of Vocabulary Aspect 29
Table 6 Percentage of Classification of Spelling Aspect 34
Table 7 Percentage of Classification of Grammatical Aspect 39
xii
ABSTRACT
Name : Nurfaizah Samsur
Reg. Number : 40300110075
Title : The Students’ Ability in Distinguishing between Written
British and American English at 6th
Semester of English
Literature Department of Adab and Humanities Faculty
at UIN Alauddin Makassar
Supervisor I : Serliah Nur
Supervisor II : Nur Rachma Isnaeni Hamka
This thesis was a study about the ability of the students as English learner in
distinguishing between written British and American English. There are some
distinctions in English as variety of language that have to be understood by English
students. The distinctions come from some aspects such as vocabulary, spelling, and
grammar.
The aim of this thesis was to know the students’ ability in distinguishing
between written British and American English and the most difficult aspect among
vocabulary, spelling, and grammar. As English learners, being aware and understand
the distinction of both is very important in order to get a much-deeper knowledge of
language study.
The problem in this thesis was analyzed by using quantitative and qualitative
method or so-called mix method. The mix method in this case was categorized as
concurrent embedded strategy to collect primary and secondary data from test and
open questionnaire.
In this thesis, the writer found that the students’ ability in distinguishing
between written British and American English were average which the mean score is
52.43 and the most difficult aspect that the students get in distinguishing of both was
vocabulary aspect.
Based on the explanation above, it can be concluded that the students did not
have much understanding about the distinction in variety of English especially
written British and American English.
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A. Background of Research
Firth in Hornberger and McKay (2010:91) provides the definitions of
English as Lingua Franca which is stated that English as Lingua Franca
interactions are those in which English is used as a “contact language” between
people who share neither a common native tongue nor a common culture
nationally, and for whom English is the chosen foreign language of
communication. In the other words, English as lingua franca means people from
all around the world with different language communicate by using English. They
use English as a medium of communication. It is due to the role of English as an
international language.
Zhang and Jiang (2008:69) state that under the influence of culture of
various countries and regions, English can be categorized into British English,
American English, Australian English, New Zealand English, Canadian English,
Indian English, Irish English, etc. However, at present, American English (AmE)
and British English (BrE) are most commonly used. British English is a language
used by Britain in Britannia while American English used by people in North
America. Furthermore, in sociolinguistics we study about regional dialect where
American and British English have different use of dialect. Those differences
cause some confusions and misunderstanding in communication. For example:
1
2
Man : Hey! Nice pants!
Woman : Excuse me?
Man : I said nice pants.
Woman : You can’t see my pants, can you?
Man : Of course I can.
Woman : How can you see my pants?
Man : They’re on your legs!
Woman : Ha. You haven’t been to America recently, have you?
Man : Oh I err …I err actually just got back from LA! That’s
“Los Angeles” by the way....
Woman : I know.
Man : Yeah, I picked up some of the American words, and now
I forget which ones to use! So confusing!
Woman : We call these “trousers” in Britain.
Man : Of course we do...you know there are so many things
…that’s it’s exactly a completely different language
sometimes!
Due to the conversation published by British Council above, the writer
assumes that there are some ambiguities in using English whether it is American
or British English. In vocabulary aspect for example, “pants” in America is
“trousers” in Britain. “Pants” is a lexical word which has different meaning in
America and British. Pants in America means “a pants/pant leg is either of the
separate sections covering a leg in a pair of pants. In the other hand, “pants” in
British means underpants (Cambridge Dictionaries Online, 2014).
Modiano (1996:5) states that quite often, teachers advise students to keep
the two major varieties of the English language separate, that is to say, to speak
and write either American English or British English (referred to in the text as
AmE or BrE). These varieties of English commonly happen in some communities.
Munjin (2008:8) states that looking at the curriculum of English lesson from basic
school up to the university, the language components (i.e. grammar, vocabularies
and structure) do not consists of one style, but both. This case makes the students
3
become unaware of some distinction of American and British English. There is no
absolute information which English is formally used, British, American or both.
Randolph Quirk and Sidney Baum in Munjin (2008:2) state that there are
two national standards that are overwhelmingly predominant both in number of
distinctive usage and in the degree to which these distinctions are
institutionalized, they are American English and British English. Grammatical
differences are few and the most conspicuous widely known. According to
Salama and Ghali (1983:4-5), grammar lesson in both of American and British
English differences are most disturbing. British use “shall” where American
native defy it. Also, American use “have to” for “must” in deductive statement. In
spoken language, British English use contraction such as “shan’t” that is very
strange for American ear. On the other hand, the American use of “would” where
the British use “should” sounds most odd to the British.
Based on the previous research above asserting that the distinction
between two varieties of English is disturbing and some students are unaware of
the distinction, the writer is interested in analyzing the ability of students in
distinguishing between written American and British English. In addition,
knowing and understanding the distinction between written American English and
British English are very important nowadays especially as English and Literature
students.
4
B. Problem Statement
Based on the statements in the background above, the writer formulated the
problem as follows:
1. How is the students’ ability in distinguishing between written American
and British English?
2. What is the most difficult aspect that the students get in distinguishing
between written American and British English?
C. Objective of Research
In this research, the writer wanted to know:
1. The ability of the students to distinguish between written American and
British English
2. The most difficult aspect that the student get to distinguish between
written American and British English
D. Significance of Research
This research is expected to give some information to the readers
especially the students of English Literature Department about the differences
between Written American and British English, so they can make their mind what
English dialect they choose in order that they can understand English properly
related to the differences contained in the written English material, American and
British English.
5
In addition, understanding the language can increase the understanding of
culture. Language and culture are partial of literary works. This research is
expected to be the base of understanding and analyzing literary works for English
Literature Department of Adab and Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin Alauddin
Makassar.
E. Scope of Research
In this research, the writer focused on the distinction of American English
and British English in vocabulary, spelling, and grammatical aspects as the basic
of written language.
6
CHAPTER II
REVIEW AND RELATED LITERATURE
A. Previous Findings
Some findings that the writer found related to this research will be
explained as follows;
The first finding is from Sara Lejon (2008) under the title “High School
Students' Attitudes to Teachers' Varieties of English”. This study aims to shed
light on high school students’ attitudes to teachers’ varieties of English. The focus
is on British English and American English, the two dominating varieties in
Swedish schools. The results reveal a number of attitudes and trends, some more
prominent than others. Sara Lejon found that a strong majority of the students
have a clear preference for the American variety, and also feel that they have been
more influenced by the variety used in media than the variety used in school. A
majority also prefer their teachers to use the American variety.
Besides, in his finding, Petr Mařák (2006) under the title “Comparison of
British and American Idioms with Equivalent Meaning” also stated that the main
aim of his thesis is to examine pairs of British and American idioms which have
equivalent meaning but differ slightly in form. This finding is only focused on the
equivalent meaning of American and British idioms.
Although the general levels of differences between British and American English,
namely differences at the level of spelling, the level of vocabulary, the level of
grammar and other differences, were used as a starting point for classification of
the selected pairs of idioms, it emerged that only at the level of spelling are
general differences reflected in the differences between the pairs of idioms under
study.
6
7
This finding looks different with this thesis. The point is American and
British English are not only different from vocabulary, spelling, and grammatical
aspect but also the meaning or the context of the idiom is different.
The other research comes from Munjin (2008) under the title “British and
American English: A Comparative Study in Relation to Teaching English at Stain
Purwokerto”. He said that there are many differences between American and
British English in writing aspect and the largest one is vocabulary. As the result,
the students sometimes get upset due to the differences of both and the teacher
must clearly explain and encourage the students to learn more about those
differences.
The similarities of the previous theses are the study of the differences
between American and British English. Whereas, the differences are in the first
finding from Lejon focuses on the preference of students towards English varieties
of their teachers use. The next findings only focused on the differences of
idiomatic expression of British and American English. The last is the research
from Munjin that the teacher gave less attention to the differences between
American and British English which make the student get upset in Learning
English due to the differences. Furthermore, in this thesis, the writer is meant to
measure the ability that the students have in order to distinguish the difference
between written American and British English.
B. Variety of English
Maguire and McMahon (2011:1) state that the variety in a language is
ubiquitous. There are 75 territories in the world where English is spoken as a first
8
or an official second language and, even though it is a widely controversial and
discussed number, researchers say that there are possibly over two billion
speakers of English in the world today (Jenkins, 2009:2). In addition, Song and
Drummond (2009:201) state that English has been viewed chiefly as what is
called “standard English” or “native English” which is generally spoken by users
in a few select countries such as England and USA, and often including Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland.
Variety of English deals with the term World English based on Kachru’s
early description of institutionalized varieties of English (McKay 2010:89).
Kachru categorized world English as an inner circle that are speakers from United
States, United Kingdom, and Australia.
There are many varieties of English as an international language but there
are only two varieties that are spoken by most native speakers of English and
studied by most foreign learners; American and British English. Furthermore,
Algeo (2006:1) states that American and British English have a special status as
the two principal national varieties of the language simply because there is more
material available in them than any other variety.
Since the two varieties are melting into one common language and are
used together freely as world English, foreign students should be alerted to both
varieties. Salama and Ghali (1982:1) state that advanced student will become
aware of major differences between the two varieties, American and British
English, and it is therefore preferable for them to have the two varieties clearly
distinguished in their mind. Also, level of education is often judge on the basis of
9
ability to spell the differences correctly. As Honna and Takeshita in Song and
Drummond (2009:205) have done a research and found that the students do not
seem to have a correct understanding of how international and how common the
language actually is among people throughout the world.
C. American and British English Differences
American and British English become so different.
Webster, in his best-selling American speller published in 1783, suggested giving
every letter in a syllable its due proportion of sound. Attitudes such as this may
be responsible for some of the many pronunciation differences between
American and British English. Other differences result from the fact that all
languages change over time, and since the separation of the two varieties,
American English has not changed in the same way as British English has
changed. One example of a consistent pronunciation difference between british
and American English can be heard in words ending with — ary, —ory, and —
ery. In British English, the first vowel in the ending is not pronounced, as in the
word secretary, usually four syllables in the US but often just three in the UK
(that is, secretary is pronounced something like Secret'ry).
Based on the quotation above, there are many reasons why American and
British have different aspects of language. Davis (2005:3) explain some reasons of
both being distinction, such us the settlement of England to America in 1800s
where English got some derivational from Germany and Dutch as other settler at
the time. In addition, there are still more words and phrases that have died out in
Britain but are still used in the America such us turnpike (for toll road), fall (for
autumn), and a deck of cards (for a pack of cards). In the other hand, the words
straight away meaning "immediately" and presently meaning "in a short time" are
no longer in common usage in America, but are often used in British English.
Generally, American and British English have differences in the field of
pronunciation, intonation, stress, spelling, vocabulary, grammar and morphology
(Janicky, 1977:26). In this case, there are three aspects of differences between
10
American and British English in written language; they are vocabulary, spelling,
and grammatical aspects. Those differences are reflected in the way American and
British are written.
1. Vocabulary aspect
Zang and Jiang (2008:71) in their journal classified the differences
between American and British English as follows:
a. Same words, different meaning
Many words that originate from the United Kingdom (British) now
possess a totally different meaning in the United States (American).
Word AmE BrE
Bill bank note a payment of a debt
Billion a thousand million a million million
Guy fellow, any person a ridiculous figure
Pressman an operator of a printing office a newspaper man
Public school a municipal-run school a private school
b. Different words, same meaning
When expressing certain object, thing or concept, British and
American English will adopt different words.
AmE BrE Meaning
Bar Public house (pub) Room or counter where
alcoholic drink are sold
and drunk
Can Tin Metal container for food
Candy Sweets Small piece of
something sweet
Cookie Sweet biscuits, small Small, flat, thin crisp
11
cake cake
Cracker Biscuit (dry) Thin dry biscuit, often
eaten with cheese
Package Parcel Something wrapped up
for carrying and sending
Intersection Junction Place where roads, lines,
etc cross each other
Railroad Railway Track on which trains
run
Subway tube, underground Railway system in a city
Superhighway,
speedway
Motorway Wide road with at least
two lanes in each
direction, for fast traffic
c. Difference in forms
AmE BrE
Candidacy Candidature
Centennial Centenary
Cook (book) Cookery
Racist, racism Racialist, racialism
Spark plug Sparkling plug
Transportation Transport
2. Spelling aspect
Newell (2013:1) states that Noah Webster created an American English
dictionary in the early 1800's, he did more than just add new words to British
English: he also revised the spelling of many common words to eliminate what he
saw as unnecessary letters. His new spellings were adopted in the United States
but not the UK, and these spelling differences remain to this day.
a. -ize/-ise (-yze/yse)
AmE BrE
Characterize Characterise
Prioritize Prioritise
12
Specialize Specialise
Analyze Analyse
Catalyze Catalyse
b. -or/-our
AmE BrE
Behavior Behaviour
Color Colour
Favor Favour
Contour Contour
c. -er/-re
AmE BrE
Center Centre
Fiber Fibre
Liter Litre
Parameter Parameter
d. -e/(-ae or -oe)
AmE BrE
Ameba Amoeba
Anesthesia Anaesthesia
Diarrhea Diarrhoea
Esophagus Oesophagus
Leukemia Leukaemia
Cesium Caesium
e. -se/-ce
AmE BrE
Defense Defence
Practice (noun and verb) Practice (noun)/practise (verb)
License (noun and verb) Licence (noun)/license (verb)
Advice (noun)/advise (verb) Advice (noun)/advise (verb)
13
f. –/e, -og/-ogue
AmE BrE
Aging Ageing
Acknowledgment Acknowledgement
Judgment Judgement
Analog Analogue
Dialog Dialogue
g. -l/-ll or -ll/-l
AmE BrE
Fulfill Fulfil
Enroll Enrol
Skill, skillful Skill, skilful
Labeled Labelled
Signaling Signalling
Propelled Propelled
Revealing Revealing
h. Words ending in - que change to -ck or -k
AmE BrE
Bank Banque
Check Cheque
i. Unhyphenated and hyphenated compounds and prefixes
Salama and Ghaly (1982:22-23) stated that generally British appear to
hyphenated more while American do not but both may use separated word, one
word, or hyphenated word. The guide is only American and British dictionary.
AmE BrE
Ashtray Ash-tray
Cooperate Co-operate
Homemade Home-made
Toothpick Tooth-pick
14
3. Grammatical Aspect
a. Present Perfect Tense– Simple Past Tense
The present perfect is used to talk about a past action which has an effect
on the present moment.
I've lost my purse. Can you help me look for it?
I have lost my pen. Can you borrow me yours?
In American English both simple past and present perfect are possible in
such situations.
I lost my purse. Can you help me look for it?
I lost my pen. Or I have lost my pen.
Zhang and Jiang (2008:71) state that British English usually uses past
perfect tense such as “I have just seen your brother” and “I have already eaten”.
However, American English adopts past tense, such us “I just saw your brother”
and “I already ate”.
Other differences include the use of already, just and yet. The British use
the present perfect with these adverbs of indefinite time.
He has just gone home.
I've already seen that film
She hasn't come yet.
In American English simple past and present perfect are both possible.
He just went home. Or he has just gone home.
I've already seen that film. Or i already saw that film.
She hasn't come yet. Or she didn't come yet.
15
The differences between American and British English in grammatical
aspect focuses on the use of tenses where American prefer using past tense in
expressing something happens recently whether it still has effect or not. Whereas
British English uses past tense in expressing something that happen in the past
and perfect tense when it happens and still has effects.
b. Preposition
Zhang and Jiang (2008:70) state that there are two main differences
between American and British English in terms of preposition; those are different
use of preposition in the construction of phrase and omitting preposition. For
example:
1) The different use of preposition
These dresses are in a sale (BrE)
These dresses are on sale (AmE)
2) Omitting preposition
There are some different usages of preposition especially in
stating time and date. In British English, before “day”, “week”, or
“certain day”, preposition “on” should be used, while it is not in
American English.
The new term begins on September 1 (BrE)
The new term begins September 1 (AmE)
Another example, with BrE “a week tomorrow,” (a phrase which is not
clearly understood by many people in America), AmE requires the use of from, as
in “a week from tomorrow.”
16
c. Irregular Verb
Darragh (2000:16) states that in America and Britain a number of regular
and irregular verbs commonly used are not the same. The list below shows that in
American English, the regular form is commonly used.
AmE BrE
Burned Burnt
Spelled Spelt
Dreamed Dreamt
Leaned Leant
Smelled Smelt
Spoiled Spoilt
Dwelled Dwelt
Kneeled Knelt
The verb quit, fit, and wet
AmE BrE
Fit-fit-fit Fit-fitted-fitted
Quit-quit-quit Quit-quitted-quitted
Wet-wet-wet Wet-wetted-wetted
Modiano (2006:126) stated that for many people in the US, the BrE use of
got instead of AmE gotten sounds peculiar, and even perhaps ungrammatical.
Other differences are found in BrE dive, dived, and AmE dive, dove, BrE saw,
sawed, sawn, and AmE saw, sawed, sawed, BrE sew, sewn, AmE sew, sewed, BrE
spit, spat, and AmE spit, spit
17
d. Modals
1) Shall and Will
“Shall” in British English is used to asked for advice while American
English employed should to ask for advice. “Shall” and “shan’t” are substituted
for “will”, indicating the future when use pronouns I and we.
AmE BrE
We will probably go to Florida We will (or shall) probably
go to Florida
I won’t be here tomorrow I won’t (shan’t) be here
tomorrow
Which bus should I take Which bus should (shall) I
take
2) Need
In British English needn't and don't need to are both possible but in
America “needn’t” is unusual.
AmE BrE
We have plenty of time, we
don’t need to hurry
We have plenty of time, we
needn’t hurry
You don't need to learn it. You needn't learn it.
OR You don't need to learn it.
3) Should in Subjunctive Construction
Darragh (2000:18) state that after subjunctive verbs like suggest,
recommend, demand, insist, etc, should is often used in British English.
AmE BrE
What do you suggest I do? What do you suggest I should
do?
I recommended that he be fired I recommended that he
18
should be fired
It’s vital that he be informed It’s vital that he should be
informed
4) Have and Take
In some expressions, British English prefers “have” while American uses
“take”
AmE BrE
All I want is to take a shower
and go to bed
All I want is to have a
shower and go to bed
Why don’t you take a bath now
and then?
Why don’t you have a bath
now and then?
19
CHAPTER III
METHODOLOGY OF RESEARCH
A. The Design of the Research
In this research, the writer used the procedure of mixed method where the
writer combined quantitative and qualitative method. In mixed method, the writer
specifically used concurrent embedded strategy in order to collect primary and
secondary data as Cresswell (2009:321) stated that a concurrent embedded
approach has a primary method that guides the project and a secondary database
as additional information that provides a supporting role in primary method.
In this research, the writer took the data from the respondents then
analyzed it to answer the problem statement about the distinction between written
American and British English as the result of the research
B. Population and Sample
Marion (2004) stated that population is any set of people or events from
which the sample is selected and to which the study results will be generalized.
Based on the explanation above, the writer chose the 6th
semester students of
English Literature Department of Adab and Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin as
the population of this research.
In this research, the writer decided to use stratified sampling as technique
of sampling because the writer meant to classify the respondents as advanced
students. In this case, the writer just took student with 3.50-4.0 GPA. Total
19
20
number of sample in this research is 49 students with the detail 46 students were
present and the rest 3 of them were not. (See Appendix 1)
C. The Instrument of Collecting Data
Test and open questionnaire are the instruments of this research. Since the
writer used mixed method, test indicated quantitative method to get primary data
and open questionnaire indicated qualitative method to get secondary or
supporting data which will be embedded into the primary data.
Test (Gall et al. 2010:132) is used to measure an individual’s knowledge,
skills, or depth of understanding within a curriculum domain. In which by
answering the question achievement test, it indicates the extent to which an
individual has mastered the specific skills or body of information in formal
learning situation. By means to measure the ability of students, the writer uses the
“test” as the instrument of the research. The writer takes the materials from some
books and journals by Christopher Davis, John Algeo, and Salama and Ghali. The
test consisted of 30 questions including 10 questions for Vocabulary aspect, 10
questions for Spelling aspect, and 10 questions for Grammatical aspect. The test
was adapted from English Tests and Exercises Online for ESL, TOEFL, TOEIC,
GRE, SAT, GMAT and englisch-hilfen.du. (See appendix 2)
Besides test, the writer also applied open questionnaire in order to get
supporting information. It consisted of 5 questions adapted from Lejon’s thesis
where the writer formulated the questions based on the questionnaire that Lejon
made. (See Appendix 3)
21
D. Procedure of Data Collection
In this research, the writer applied some procedures of collecting data as
follows;
1. The test which consists of 30 questions was delivered to the students.
2. Before answering the question on the test, the writer gave some instruction
and rules to the students.
3. The test was conducted by the writer to oversee the examinee along 30
minutes.
4. After finishing the test, the students submitted the paper.
5. After doing the test, the writer randomly chose the respondents to answer
the questions from open questionnaire.
E. Technique of Data Analysis
Wayan and Sumantana (1986:76) explained that to know the students’ score
in answering the test, the researcher should use the following formula:
X =
x 100
Where, x = individual score
R = the number of correct answer
N = number of items
After knowing individual score of the sample, the writer calculated the
mean score of the whole. It is calculated by summing the individual scores of the
sample and then dividing the total sum by the number of individuals in the sample
22
(Gall et all, 2010:156).for example if the ratings for four people on a scale are
1,2,4,4, the mean is 2,75 (1+2+4+4=11; 11:4= 2,75).
Then, the percentage of the classification of the students in answering
question can be calculated by using the following formula:
P =
x 100%
Where, p = percentage
f = number of frequency
r = total number of respondent
In order to measure the percentage of each aspect, the writer uses the
theory of Wayan and Sumarthana (1986:76) as described follows:
The Score of Ability Category
80-100 Very good
60-79 Good
40-59 Average
20-39 Poor
0-19 Very poor
Student’s ability in this research would be measured through the
appearance of the correct answers in aspect of Vocabulary, Spelling, and
Grammatical. The indicator of measurement will be explained as follows.
Table 1 : The Range Score of Ability
23
Score Range Indicators
A (80-100) Very Good
1. Answer 9-10 questions of
Vocabulary correctly
2. Answer 9-10 questions of Spelling
correctly
3. Answer 9-10 questions of
Grammatical correctly
Total = 30 correct answers
B (60-59) Good
1. Answer 7-8 questions of Vocabulary
correctly
2. Answer 7-8questions of Spelling
correctly
3. Answer 7-8 questions of
Grammatical correctly
Total = 24 correct answers
C (40-59) Average
1. Answer 5-6 questions of Vocabulary
correctly
2. Answer 5-6 questions of Spelling
correctly
3. Answer 5-6 questions of
Grammatical correctly
Total = 18 correct answers
D (20-39) Poor
1. Answer 3-4 questions of Vocabulary
correctly
2. Answer 3-4 questions of Spelling
correctly
3. Answer 3-4 questions of
Grammatical correctly
Total = 12 correct answers
Table 2 : The Range Score of Each Aspects
24
E (0-19) Very Poor
1. Answer 1-2 questions of Vocabulary
correctly
2. Answer 1-2 questions of Spelling
correctly
3. Answer 1-2 questions of
Grammatical correctly
Total = 6 correct answers
25
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
A. Findings
As stated in the previous chapter, the writer, in this case, is going to
analyze the data from two kinds of instruments; those are “test” and “open
questionnaire.”
1. Test
In this section, the writer presents the data analysis of the distinction
between written American and British English test score which has been done by
students of 6th
semester of English Literature Department of Adab and Humanity
Faculty of UIN Alauddin Makassar who are categorized as advanced students
with GPA 3.5 to 4.0 as respondents.
The data are analyzed in two steps of analysis. The first step, the writer
scores the test which done by the students, and the second step, the writer
calculates the score of the students in each aspect of vocabulary, spelling and
grammar to find out the ability of students of 6th
semester of English Literature
Department of Adab and Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin Makassar
25
26
a. The Students’ Ability in distinguishing between written American and
British English
The first step in analyzing the data, the writer delivers the score of each
respondent by tabulating the total correct number.
No Vocabulary Spelling Grammar Total Score
1 8 6 4 18 60
2 6 7 3 16 53.3
3 5 5 4 14 46.6
4 4 5 6 15 50
5 4 3 6 13 43.3
6 5 8 3 16 53.3
7 4 6 5 15 50
8 8 3 2 13 43.3
9 6 5 7 18 60
10 5 2 1 8 26.6
11 8 5 4 17 56.6
12 5 7 6 18 60
13 8 6 3 17 56.6
14 5 4 7 16 53.3
15 6 1 6 13 43.3
16 7 4 5 16 53.3
17 6 4 5 15 50
18 6 6 7 19 63.3
19 4 3 6 13 43.3
20 6 9 3 18 60
21 2 4 5 11 36.6
22 3 3 7 13 43.3
23 4 8 7 19 63.3
24 4 5 7 16 53.3
25 5 5 5 15 50
26 2 5 8 15 50
27 5 7 6 18 60
Table 3: Individual Score Based on Correct Answer
27
28 3 5 8 16 53.3
29 4 5 4 13 43.3
30 6 7 6 19 63.3
31 5 7 6 18 60
32 8 4 3 15 50
33 6 6 5 17 56.6
34 6 7 2 15 50
35 5 5 7 17 56.6
36 7 8 8 23 76.6
37 4 7 7 18 60
38 4 8 7 19 63.3
39 4 4 2 10 33.3
40 3 6 2 11 36.6
41 4 8 6 18 60
42 6 8 6 20 66.6
43 3 5 5 13 43.3
44 5 6 5 16 53.3
45 4 7 4 15 50
46 4 7 5 16 53.3
Total 724 2412
Mean 15.40 52.43
Based on the data above, total correct answer is 724 numbers. Total
numbers of questions are 30 questions x 46 students which mean there are 1380
correct answers. The data shows that there are only more than a half correct
number with the average 15.40 of 30 questions.
The frequencies of correct numbers are 1 student with 8 correct numbers
(score 26.6), 1 student with 10 correct answers (score 33.3), 2 students with 11
correct answers (score 36.6) 7 students with 13 correct answers (score 43.3), 1
student with 14 correct answers (46.6), 8 students with 15 correct answers (score
50), 8 students with 16 correct answers (53.3), 4 students with 17 correct answers
28
(score 56.6), 8 students with 18 correct answers (score 60), 4 students with 19
correct answers (63.3), 1 student with 20 correct answers (66.6), and 1 student
with 23 correct answer (76.6).
After describing the total correct number and the frequencies, the writer
classifies the ability of students in distinguishing between written American and
British English in the table as follows;
Classification Frequency Percentage
Level of Ability Range
Very good 80-100 0 0%
Good 60-79 14 30%
Average 40-59 28 60%
Poor 20-39 4 10%
Very Poor 0-19 0 0%
Total 46 100%
The data shows that the ability of students of 6th
semester of English
Literature Department of Adab and Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin Makassar
is in Average level with the result 60% of students get the point of 40-56. It can be
seen that most of the advanced students, their knowledge about the distinction of
American and British English is almost good even it is expected in very good
level of classification.
Table 4: Percentage of Classification of Students’ Ability in General
29
b. The most difficult aspect that the student get in distinguishing between
written American and British English
1) Data analysis of Vocabulary
After describing the whole data, the writer divides the data into three parts
of vocabulary, spelling, and grammar. The writer tabulates the correct number of
vocabulary aspect from each number. (See Appendix IV)
The data shows that the most correct numbers answered by the
respondents are point 1 and point 4, whereas the less correct number is point 7.
Then, the writer classified the students’ ability in vocabulary aspect as follows;
Classification Frequency Percentage
Level of Ability Range
Very good 9-10 0 0%
Good 7-8 7 15%
Average 5-6 20 43%
Poor 3-4 17 37%
Very Poor 1-2 2 5%
Total 46 100%
2) Data Analysis of Spelling
The table shows the score of each respondent at each number of spelling
test (See Appendix 5). The data displays that the most correct number is point 2 as
Table 5: percentage of classification of vocabulary aspect
30
37 correct answers, while the less correct number is point 10. Also, the percentage
of classification is tabulated as follows;
Classification Frequency Percentage
Level of Ability Range
Very good 9-10 1 2%
Good 7-8 17 37%
Average 5-6 18 40%
Poor 3-4 8 17%
Very Poor 1-2 2 4%
Total 46 100%
3) Data Analysis of Grammar
The data shows the score of each respondent at each number of grammar
test (see appendix VI). The data displays that the most correct number is point 1
as 38 correct answers, while the less correct number is point 10. In table 7, the
writer classified the student’s understanding in the distinction between American
and British English.
Classification Frequency Percentage
Level of Ability Range
Very good 9-10 0 0%
Good 7-8 12 26%
Average 5-6 18 40%
Table 6: Percentage of Classification of Spelling Aspect
Table 7: Percentage of Classification of Grammatical Aspect
31
Poor 3-4 10 21%
Very Poor 1-2 6 13%
Total 46 100%
2. Open Questionnaire
To complete the research, additionally, the writer provided open
questionnaire to get some information about the difficulties in distinguishing
between written American and British English. In this section, the respondents,
consist of 12 students chosen randomly by the writer, are free to answer the
question based on their own perceptions. The questions are answered variously as
explained follows;
a. Question 1
Among vocabulary, spelling, and grammar, which one is the most
difficult aspect in distinguishing between written American and British
English?
The answers are highly varies. As the result, more than a half of
respondents’ answers are vocabulary.
1) The most difficult aspect among vocabulary, spelling and grammar
between American and British English is vocabulary because in
vocabulary, it is need to be memorized to distinguish the American
and British English
2) Grammar, because grammar between BrE and AmE have a very
different style of rule in language
32
3) I got trouble to distinguish the vocabulary between American and
British because there are similar words between them
4) In my mind, based on my experience in learning, I think vocabulary
is the most difficult aspect because I never learn it specific, so
when I find it two of them absolutely I will be confused and will
find some reference
5) Pronunciation, because when we are pronounce the vocabulary
sometimes there are similar sound but the writing is different
6) The most difficult is in vocabulary because sometimes, in some
conditions, the differences are on the letter, “colours/colors”. For
grammar, the rule is not influenced by the vocab.
7) Because of we only taught little about the differences, and in our
college the teacher commonly uses American, so when he/she
speaks, it is easier to distinguish the American style in speaking,
and vocabulary, but the grammar use British. In grammar it is
easier to recognize British grammar.
8) I myself think:
Vocabulary: American more difficult in the way we mention and
sometimes hear strange
Spelling: American is more difficult
Grammar: British is more difficult because grammar is not really
important in America
33
9) The most difficult aspect in distinguishing between American and
British English is vocabulary because to distinguish those
vocabularies, I have to look up dictionary
10) Vocabulary is the most difficult because there is different writing of
word between word use style BrE and word use style AmE
b. Question 2
Which variety of English do you mostly use in writing (American,
British, or a mixture of both)?
Of 10 respondents, 4 of them mostly mix their English, 5 of them
prefer British English, and the last one prefers American English in
writing. Here are the varieties of the statement;
1) In writing, I mostly used the British style because British style use
the formal style that always often we use in formal situation like in
school or college, so it is impact of me to mostly use the British
English than the American English.
2) British, because British always use in my university
3) I usually use both of them because I cannot differenciate the word
between them yet
4) In my mind, I mostly use American in writing because it is common
in use especially in learning
5) In writing, I always using combine between British and American
34
6) I used to use mixture of both varieties. Honestly I’m too lazy to
differentiate it.
7) In writing, because we have to follow the rule of grammar so I use
British
8) I love to use British in the way I speak, moreover write because
British is original and comfortable to listened
9) I mostly use British style in writing because I guess that British
style has more formal style and it is more suitable to use in writing.
10) I mix of both varieties because in my privacy I really can’t differ
between BrE and AmE so I mix it
c. Question 3
What affects your preferences? Is it from media (Movie, TV Show) or
teaching learning process (teacher’s preferences, internet, textbook)?
Most of the respondents say that teaching-learning processes affect
their preferences. The detailed of the answer will be shown as follows;
1) The affect my preferences from the media like a movie because I
often watching movie and textbook because the textbook often use
the formal style
2) Movie
3) I got from some preferences, whether from media or teaching
learning process
4) The affect of my preferences is from learning process
35
5) Mixing because of before I don’t know the different between British
and American, and because learning process
6) In my class. Teaching-learning process has the most role in my
English
7) Teaching-learning process. Because I learn grammar only in class
8) I got it from teaching-learning process then I feel more interesting
in it because I got it from some media
9) The affect of my preferences is from teaching-learning process
10) I got from teacher and textbook, because my teacher explain little
about it, so when I write, I just use what I remember (Datum 10
B. Discussion
1. The Students’ Ability in Distinguishing between Written American and
British English
Based on the collected and analyzed data in findings before, the writer
finds that the students’ ability in distinguishing between written American and
British English at 6th semester of English Literature Department of Adab and
Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin Makassar on the mastery of vocabulary is
5.04 and it is classified as average. The students’ ability in spelling aspect is 5.56
and it is classified as average. The students’ ability in grammatical aspect is 5.13
and it is also classified as average. Therefore, the students’ ability in
distinguishing between written American and British English totally is 52.43 and
it is classified as average.
36
Based on the classification in the previous chapter, the writer finds that
there are no students who are in very good level of ability. It is regrettably that
even the respondents are classified as advanced students, none of them can get the
higher score in range 80-100. In another case, there are 30% of the respondents
who are in good level of ability. Fourteen students score point in range 60-79.
Further, there are 28 0f 46 respondents score point in range 40-59. It indicates that
half of the total respondents are in the average level of ability. Then 10% of them
are in range 20-39 classified poor. The last is there are also none of the student has
very poor level of ability. It can be seen that since they are in advanced level, it is
available for them to not getting the lowest score. In short, most of the advanced
student at 6th
semester of English Literature Department of Adab and Humanities
Faculty of UIN Alauddin Makassar cannot clearly understand the distinction even
Salama and Ghali (1982:1) stated that advanced students will become aware and
clearly distinguish of two varieties, American and British English.
2. The Most Difficult Aspect the Students Get in Distinguishing between
Written American and British English
a) Vocabulary Aspect
In the table 5, individual score of vocabulary, there are 257 correct
numbers of 460 total correct numbers. In details, there are 36 correct number in
point 1, 33 correct number in point 2, 29 correct number in point 3, 36 correct
number in point 4, 24 correct number in point 5, 20 correct numbers in point 6, 12
correct numbers in point 7, 15 correct numbers in point 8, and 14 correct numbers
37
in point 9 and 10. From the detail of the data, the most correct numbers are point 1
and 4, and the less correct numbers is point 7.
In point 1, there are 78% of respondents answering the correct number.
The answer of the question is American English, which talks about the lexicon
“movie”. It can be inferred that most of the students understand that “movie”
belongs to American English vocabulary. It is due to the influence of Hollywood
as Modiano (1996:20) states that Hollywood, as American entertainment industry,
has introduced American English to the international audience. Talking about
Hollywood, it means we are talking about movie and America.
Others, there are also 78 % of the respondents answering the correct
number in point 4. Related to point 1 above, the student can easily recognize the
lexicon if it is American vocabulary. In same case, the lexicon “truck” is
understood by English speaker in international scale, because it is a common word
in American vocabulary (Modiano:1996:58)
In contrast, there are only 26% of the respondents who get the correct
answer in point 7. It shows that the word “resume” gives a misunderstanding to
the student that they think resume is American vocabulary. In fact, resume in
America is known as curriculum vitae or C.V.
As shown in the discussion of the most correct and the less correct
numbers, the result of the test indicates that most advanced students at 6th
semester of English Literature Department of UIN Alauddin Makassar recognize
more the words of American vocabulary rather than British Vocabulary.
38
b) Spelling Aspect
The data shows that most of students answer correctly in spelling aspect
of the test. There are 257 correct answers of 460 numbers of the test. From the
detail of the data, point 2 appears as the most correct numbers while point 10 is
the less correct number.
The most obvious differences between American and British English in
spelling is the use of u in words such as “colour, honour, humour, labour, odour,
vapour, neighbour, harbour, behaviour, and flavor” (Modiano:1996:108). It
appears in point 2 of the spelling test which focuses on the spelling of
“Favourite”. In this case, most of the respondents answer correctly. There are 80%
of them acknowledge that “Favourite” is how Briton spell the words in written
text.
In the other hand, hyphenated compound seems difficult for students to
distinguish. Even Modiano (1996:107) suggest that the students of English
Language should look up the words in dictionary when deciding how to use
compound noun whether it is hyphenated or unhyphenated. In this point, there are
only 30% of respondents answer correctly while the rest 70% have false answer.
c) Grammatical Aspect
Looking at the data in table 9, individual score of grammatical aspect, it
can be said that the students are quite understand the distinction of American and
British English in grammatical aspect (236 correct answers) rather than
vocabulary aspect (233 correct answers). Of 236 correct answer, 83% of the
39
students answer correctly in point 1, whereas there are only 22% of respondents
answer correctly in point 10.
The use of “shall” is very common in British English where American
commonly use “will” to indicate future. Algeo (2006:25) state that “Shall” is rare
in both American and British English, but is more frequent in British than in
American. It seems like almost all student can easily recognize the use of “shall”
in grammatical structure as British written style due to the fact that 38 of 46
students answer correctly.
Darragh (2000:16) states that in American English, the regular form is
usually preferred, and in British English the irregular. Unfortunately it seems like
there many students get difficulties in deciding whether the regular verb belongs
to American English or British English. It can be seen that there are only 22% of
respondents who get the correct answer while the others are false
As a result, most of the correct answer in distinguishing between written
American and British English is in spelling aspect which is 257 total correct
numbers, followed by grammatical aspect as 236 total correct numbers, and the
last is vocabulary aspect as 233 total correct numbers of 460 (46 respondents × 10
numbers) total numbers of each aspect. The result shows that spelling aspect is the
easiest and vocabulary aspect is the most difficult one in distinguishing between
written American and British English. As Modiano (1996:18) states that many
lexical items in American English and British English are not understood by both
native and second language speakers.
40
Additionally, the data from open questionnaire answered by 10
respondents show that most of them concern in variety of English since they
realize that there are some differences in American and British English. The data
shows that 5 of 10 respondents claim that vocabulary is the most difficult aspect.
Some of them think that it is difficult since vocabulary is needed to be memorized
to get the distinctions or sometimes they need to look up the dictionaries to make
sure of the distinctions. It is related to the data of the test where the students get
the lowest score in vocabulary aspect of the test.
When the respondents are questioned about the preferences of using
American or British English in writing, 5 of them prefer British English. They
think that British style is more formal than American English. It is due to
Modiano (1996:132) stating that in general, British English is more formal and
stricter in usage. In the other hand, some respondents prefer to mix both of
varieties in writing in reasons that they cannot really differentiate it.
Furthermore, talking about preferences, it cannot be separated with the
cause of it. There are some causes that can affect the students’ preferences of
using British or American English or mixture of both. 7 out of 10 respondents are
affected from teaching-learning process while the rest of them are affected from
media such us movie. It can be seen that actually they have realized about the
distinctions of American and British English since they know they cause of their
preferences. They claim that teaching-learning process affects their preferences.
41
As the result, it can be seen that in writing, distinguishing vocabulary is
the most difficult one. Because of the difficulties, the students prefer to mix both
American and British English.
42
CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. CONCLUSION
Based on the result and the analyzing discussion of the previous chapter,
the writer concludes that
1. The student’s ability in distinguishing between written American and
British English at 6th
Semester of English Literature Department of
Adab and Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin Makassar is classified as
average which the mean score is 52.43.
2. The most difficult aspect seeing through the less correct number is
vocabulary aspect with 233 correct numbers.
B. SUGGESTION
Based on the conclusion above, the writer believes that the ability in
distinguishing between written American and British English at 6th
Semester of
English Literature Department of Adab and Humanity Faculty of UIN Alauddin
Makassar can be improved by doing the following suggestion;
1. The lecturer should give guidance and motivation to the student to
have more attention in varieties of English especially American and
British English
2. The distinction of American and British English in vocabulary,
spelling, and grammatical aspect should be thought more effectively
42
43
and intensively by training the students to be aware of the distinction
between American and British English
3. The writer suggests that the other researchers should be able to serve
about the varieties of English, on the other object.
44
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APPENDIX I
SAMPLE OF THE RESEARCH
NO NAME
(INITIALLY) SEX GROUP GPA
1 MM Female Ag 1/2 3.85
2 GSH Female Ag 1/2 3.78
3 HM Female Ag 1/2 3.78
4 NBM Female Ag 1/2 3.75
5 NAF Female Ag 1/2 3.70
6 MF Female Ag 1/2 3.69
7 AI Female Ag 1/2 3.66
8 RUK Female Ag 1/2 3.66
9 ME Male Ag 1/2 3.64
10 GEP Female Ag 1/2 3.63
11 NA Male Ag 1/2 3.59
12 SE Female Ag 1/2 3.59
13 YH Male Ag 1/2 3.57
14 MH Male Ag 1/2 3.55
15 NK Female Ag 1/2 3.55
16 JIT Female Ag 1/2 3.53
17 NW Female Ag 1/2 3.52
18 IR Female Ag 1/2 3.50
19 KNI Female Ag 1/2 3.50
20 MMM Male Ag 1/2 3.50
21 ANQ Female Ag 3/4 3.80
22 ER Female Ag 3/4 3.73
23 DAM Male Ag 3/4 3.69
24 BM Male Ag 3/4 3.69
25 NH Female Ag 3/4 3.69
26 MR Female Ag 3/4 3.66
27 RMN Female Ag 3/4 3.64
28 IDR Female Ag 3/4 3.60
29 NJF Female Ag 3/4 3.56
30 AI Female Ag 3/4 3.56
31 UI Female Ag 3/4 3.56
32 AR Male Ag 3/4 3.51
33 AB Female Ag 3/4 3.51
34 SK Female Ag 5/6 3.83
35 RN Female Ag 5/6 3.77
36 NI Female Ag 5/6 3.70
37 NWH Female Ag 5/6 3.57
38 BT Female Ag 5/6 3.74
39 BR Male Ag 5/6 3.69
40 IRM Female Ag 5/6 3.69
41 ISN Female Ag 5/6 3.66
42 MNR Female Ag 5/6 3.65
43 KB Female Ag 5/6 3.59
44 PU Female Ag 5/6 3.59
45 NMT Male Ag 1/2 3.58
46 RA Female Ag 5/6 3.54
APPENDIX II
Instrument of Research (Test)
Instruction:
You will read a sentence then two options will be given. Decide whether the
sentence is written in British or American English.
Vocabulary
1) Have you seen the latest movie?
o British English
o American English
2) Mr. Barnes, our caretaker, found my key.
o British English
o American English
3) I like French fries, they're very crispy.
o British English
o American English
4) Have you seen Dick's new truck?
o British English
o American English
5) The accident happened because the blue car didn't stop at the traffic lights.
o British English
o American English
6) Tom told me to get off the Underground at Tower Hill.
o British English
o American English
7) We have to hand in our résumé by Friday.
o British English
o American English
8) The rubbish is collected once a day
o British English
o American English
9) I cannot insure her being on time
o British English
o American English
10) He lives in a flat
o British English
o American English
Spelling
1) I've passed this test. So I'll get my driving licence very soon.
o British English
o American English
2) English is my favourite subject at school.
o British English
o American English
3) The check bounced
o British English
o American English
4) You should enroll as soon as possible
o British English
o American English
5) Anaesthesia is a medical term
o British English
o American English
6) It needs one liter of oil
o British English
o American English
7) I am having trouble with my internet connexion
o British English
o American English
8) I realise that she is a good writer
o British English
o American English
9) Read the Acknowledgement carefully!
o British English
o American English
10) This product is home-made
o British English
o American English
Grammar
1) I shall go tomorrow
o British English
o American English
2) I have got to know him over the years
o British English
o American English
3) You can’t speak to him. He already left
o British English
o American English
4) All I want is to have a shower and go to bed
o British English
o American English
5) They arrived at ten after two
o British English
o American English
6) These dresses are on sale
o British English
o American English
7) I suggest that meeting be postponed
o British English
o American English
8) The new term begins September 1
o British English
o American English
9) Have you finished that letter yet?
o British English
o American English
10) She burned all the old paper on the ground
o British English
o American English
Adapted from :
1. English Tests and Exercises Online for ESL, TOEFL, TOEIC, GRE, SAT, GMAT
2. englisch-hilfen.du .
APPENDIX III
Instrument of the Research (Open Questionnaire)
1. Among vocabulary, spelling and grammar, which one is the most difficult
aspect in distinguishing between written British and American English?
Why?
2. Which variety of English do you mostly use yourself in writing
(American, British or a mixture of both varieties)? Why?
3. What affects your preferences? Is it from media (Movie, TV shows) or
teaching-learning process (teacher’s preferences, internet, textbook)?
.
Adapted from Sara Lejon’s Questionnaire of Thesis
APPENDIX IV
Individual Score of Vocabulary Aspect
No Score of Vocabulary
Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 √ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ 8
2 √ √ √ √
√
√
6
3 √
√ √
√
√ 5
4
√
√ √
√
4
5
√
√
√
√
4
6 √ √ √ √
√
5
7 √
√ √
√
4
8 √ √ √ √ √ √
√ √ 8
9 √ √ √ √
√ √
6
10 √ √ √
√ √
5
11 √ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ 8
12 √
√ √ √
√
5
13 √ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ 8
14 √ √
√ √
√ 5
15 √ √ √
√ √
√ 6
16 √ √ √ √
√ √
√ 7
17 √ √
√ √ √
√ 6
18 √ √ √ √ √
√
6
19 √ √
√
√ 4
20 √ √ √ √ √
√
6
21 √
√
2
22
√ √ √
3
23 √ √
√
√
4
24 √ √
√
√
4
25 √ √
√ √
√
5
26
√
√
2
27 √ √ √ √
√
5
28
√
√ √
3
29
√ √
√
√ 4
30
√ √ √ √ √
√
6
31
√ √
√ √
√
5
32 √ √ √ √ √ √ √
√ 8
33 √ √ √ √ √ √
6
34
√ √
√
√ √ 5
35 √ √ √ √ √
√ √
7
36 √ √
√
√
4
37 √ √
√
√
4
38 √
√ √
√
4
39 √ √
√
3
40
√ √ √
√ √ √ 6
41 √ √
√
√
4
42 √ √ √ √ √
√
6
43 √ √
√
√
4
44 √ √
√
√ √
5
45 √ √
√ √
4
46 √ √
√
√
4
Total 36 33 29 36 24 20 12 15 14 14 233
APPENDIX V
Individual Score of Spelling Aspect
No Score of Spelling
Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
2 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
3 √ √ √ √ √ 5
4 √ √ √ √ √ 5
5 √ √ √ 3
6 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
7 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
8 √ √ √ 3
9 √ √ √ √ √ 5
10 √ √ 2
11 √ √ √ √ √ 5
12 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
13 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
14 √ √ √ √ 4
15 √ 1
16 √ √ √ √ 4
17 √ √ √ √ 4
18 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
19 √ √ √ 3
20 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 9
21 √ √ √ √ 4
22 √ √ √ 3
23 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
24 √ √ √ √ √ 5
25 √ √ √ √ √ 5
26 √ √ √ √ √ 5
27 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
28 √ √ √ √ √ 5
29 √ √ √ √ √ 5
30 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
31 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
32 √ √ √ √ 4
33 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
34 √ √ √ √ √ 5
35 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
36 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
37 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
38 √ √ √ √ 4
39 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
40 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
41 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
42 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
43 √ √ √ √ √ 5
44 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
45 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
46 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
Total 21 37 30 22 34 27 26 23 23 14 257
APPENDIX VI
Individual Score of Grammatical Aspect
No Score of Grammar
Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1 √ √ √ √ 4
2 √ √ √ 3
3 √ √ √ √ 4
4 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
5 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
6 √ √ √ 3
7 √ √ √ √ √ 5
8 √ √ 2
9 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
10 √ 1
11 √ √ √ √ 4
12 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
13 √ √ √ 3
14 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
15 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
16 √ √ √ √ √ 5
17 √ √ √ √ √ 5
18 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
19 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
20 √ √ √ 3
21 √ √ √ √ √ 5
22 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
23 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
24 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
25 √ √ √ √ √ 5
26 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
27 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
28 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
29 √ √ √ √ 4
30 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
31 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
32 √ √ √ 3
33 √ √ √ √ √ 5
34 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
35 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 8
36 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
37 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 7
38 √ √ 2
39 √ √ 2
40 √ √ 2
41 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
42 √ √ √ √ √ √ 6
43 √ √ √ √ √ 5
44 √ √ √ √ √ 5
45 √ √ √ √ 4
46 √ √ √ √ √ 5
38 20 33 21 24 21 20 27 22 10 236
CURRICULUM VITAE
1. PERSONAL DETAIL
Name : NURFAIZAH SAMSUR
Date of Birth : Bulukumba, 15 April 1992
Address : Btn. Paccinongang Harapan PA 15/15
Sex : Female
Religion : Islam
E-Mail : [email protected]
2. EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
1996-1998 : TK Dharma Wanita Tambangan
1998-2004 : SD 103 Kalimporo, Kajang
2004-2007 : SMP PON-PES Ummul Mukminin Makassar
2007-2010 : SMA Neg. 1 Bulukumba
2010-sekarang : Universitas Islam Negeri (UIN) Alauddin Makassar